 "Donald Trump's most controversial quotes from his campaign trail")
Donald Trump on Thursday reached the required number of delegates needed to clinch the Republican nomination to become the party’s candidate for the US presidential elections later this year.
Trump’s campaign has attracted its own share of controversy. From claims which have often been called out for being flat out incorrect to extreme statements on religious communities and sexist comments, the celebrity billionaire and real-estate mogul’s run has oscillated between bizarre to downright offensive.
Here, are the 10 most controversial quotes from Trump’s campaign trail
On Muslims
CNN in an article titled “Trump's comments on Islam are frightening” called Trump ‘the worst Islamophobe’ after he called for “a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country's representatives can figure out what is going on,” in a December 7 statement last year.
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On Women Journalists
In August, Trump criticised Fox News moderator Megyn Kelly after she questioned him ‘harshly’ during the Republican Party’s first debate.
He said: "She starts asking me all sorts of ridiculous questions.You could see there was blood coming out of her eyes.Blood coming out of her wherever."
On Mexican Immigrants
Trump termed Mexicans as ‘rapists’ and said that he would build a wall between US and Mexico, for which Mexico would have to foot the bill.
“When Mexico sends its people, they're not sending their best... They're sending people that have lots of problems... They're bringing drugs. They're bringing crime. They're rapists. And some, I assume, are good people,” he said, eliciting howls of protests from immigrant groups, as well as from across the US’ southern border.
“I will build a great, great wall on our southern border, and I will make Mexico pay for that wall. Mark my words.”
On Indian Call Centre Workers
As reported by the Wall Street Journal, Trump mocked Indian call centre workers at a rally in the city of Harrington .
He said: “You ever call up on your credit card, you want to find out about your credit card”.
“Guess what, you’re talking to a person from India. You say, ‘how the hell does that work?’”
“So I called up under the guise I’m checking on my card. I said: ‘Where are you from?”
“‘We are from India. Oh great that’s wonderful, thank very much, that’s all I need to know, baarrp,” he said, mimicking an Indian accent.
On H-1B Visa Workers
Trump has also vowed to end the H-1B visa program that allows US employers to employ foreign workers in speciality occupations for a period of time.
He said: “I know the H1-B very well.We shouldn’t have it, it’s very, very bad for workers.”
“It’s unfair to our workers and we should end it.”
On the 9/11 Terror Attacks
At a rally on November 15, Trump was reported as saying: “I watched when the World Trade Center came tumbling down. And I watched in Jersey City, New Jersey, where thousands and thousands of people were cheering as that building was coming down. Thousands of people were cheering.”
This claim was quickly rebutted on the internet after no such evidence of cheering crowds emerged.
On China
Trump had this to say about the Chinese people: “I'm not saying they're stupid. I like China. I just sold an apartment for $15m. Am I supposed to dislike 'em? People say you don't like China. No, I love them. But their leaders are much smarter than our leaders. And we can't sustain ourselves with that. It's like, take the New England Patriots and Tom Brady and have them play your high school football team.”
On His Win
At a rally in Iowa, Trump pointed his hand at the crowd like he was shooting a handgun and expressed his confidence that he would remain atop the Republican field.
He said: “I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot people and I wouldn't lose voters.”
On Water-Boarding and other US Interrogation Techniques
During a Republican presidential debate hosted by ABC News on February 6, Trump said: “In the Middle East, we have people chopping the heads off Christians, we have people chopping the heads off many other people. We have things that we have never seen before — as a group, we have never seen before, what's happening right now. The medieval times — I mean, we studied medieval times — not since medieval times have people seen what's going on. I would bring back water-boarding and I'd bring back a hell of a lot worse than water-boarding.”
On Global Warming
Calling global warming a ‘hoax’, Trump quoted NBC on his Twitter handle in 2014, saying: “NBC News just called it ‘The Great Freeze’ — coldest weather in years. Is our country still spending money on the GLOBAL WARMING HOAX?”
